Virtualized wireless mesh in airplane cabin for deterministic topology control

Abstract

Systems, methods, and computer-readable media storing instructions for handling wireless communication in wireless mesh networks are disclosed herein. The disclosed techniques virtualize a portion of the communications within the wireless mesh network by implementing a plurality of virtual routers on a server, each virtual router corresponding to a physical router device within the wireless mesh network. Each physical router device is connected to its corresponding virtual router by a deterministic connection, which may include a wired connection to the server. A virtual communication layer implemented by the server is configured to router inter-router communication between the virtual routers. In some embodiments, each virtual router is implemented within a separate container within a virtual mesh network environment running on the server.

What is claimed: 
     
       1. A wireless communication system, comprising:
 a plurality of physical router devices configured to communicate wirelessly with a plurality of low-power wireless devices comprising low-power wireless sensors disposed within an aircraft; and 
 a server within the aircraft and connected to the plurality of physical router devices via a plurality of separate wired connections, the server comprising:
 one or more processors; 
 a communication interface configured to communicate between the one or more processors and the plurality of physical router devices via a deterministic connection with each of the physical router devices; and 
 a computer-readable memory storing executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the server to implement a virtual mesh network environment, comprising:
 a plurality of virtual routers configured to communicate with the plurality of low-power wireless devices through the plurality of physical router devices, wherein each of the virtual routers corresponds to one of the physical router devices; and 
 a virtual communication layer configured to route inter-router communication between the plurality of virtual routers. 
 
 
 
     
     
       2. The wireless communication system of  claim 1 , wherein the virtual mesh network environment is configured to implement each of the virtual routers in a separate container running in the virtual mesh network environment. 
     
     
       3. The wireless communication system of  claim 1 , wherein each virtual router of the plurality of virtual routers includes a mesh node component configured to manage non-deterministic communication (i) between the virtual router and other virtual routers of the plurality of virtual routers and (ii) between the virtual router and at least some of the plurality of low-power wireless devices, such mesh node component being configured to manage the non-deterministic communication according to a standard wireless mesh network protocol as a physical node within a wireless mesh network. 
     
     
       4. The wireless communication system of  claim 3 , wherein each virtual router further includes a virtualization component configured to communicate with the other virtual routers via the virtual communication layer. 
     
     
       5. The wireless communication system of  claim 3 , wherein each virtual router further includes a virtualization component configured to communicate with the at least some of the plurality of low-power wireless devices through the deterministic connection with the respective physical router device of the physical router devices. 
     
     
       6. The wireless communication system of  claim 1 , wherein each of the physical router devices includes a virtual pipeline application configured to communicate with the corresponding virtual router via the deterministic connection. 
     
     
       7. The wireless communication system of  claim 1 , wherein the deterministic connection includes a wired connection between the server and each of the physical router devices. 
     
     
       8. The wireless communication system of  claim 1 , wherein the virtual mesh network environment further comprises a virtual edge router configured to communicate with the plurality of virtual routers and with a client application external to the virtual mesh network environment. 
     
     
       9. A tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium storing executable instructions for handling wireless communication that, when executed by at least one processor of a computer system, cause the computer system to:
 establish a deterministic connection with each of a plurality of physical router devices configured to communicate wirelessly with a plurality of low-power wireless devices; and 
 implement a virtual mesh network environment, comprising:
 a plurality of virtual routers configured to communicate with the plurality of low-power wireless devices through the plurality of physical router devices, wherein each of the virtual routers corresponds to one of the physical router devices, wherein each virtual router of the plurality of virtual routers includes a mesh node component configured to manage non-deterministic communication (i) between the virtual router and other virtual routers of the plurality of virtual routers and (ii) between the virtual router and at least some of the plurality of low-power wireless devices, such mesh node component being configured to manage the non-deterministic communication according to a standard wireless mesh network protocol as a physical node within a wireless mesh network; and 
 a virtual communication layer configured to route inter-router communication between the plurality of virtual routers. 
 
 
     
     
       10. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 9 , wherein the executable instructions cause the computer system to implement each of the virtual routers in a separate container running in the virtual mesh network environment. 
     
     
       11. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 9 , wherein each virtual router further includes a virtualization component configured to communicate with the other virtual routers via the virtual communication layer. 
     
     
       12. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 9 , wherein each virtual router further includes a virtualization component configured to communicate with the at least some of the plurality of low-power wireless devices through the deterministic connection with the respective physical router device of the physical router devices. 
     
     
       13. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 9 , wherein each virtual router of the plurality of virtual routers is configured to communicate with a virtual pipeline application of the corresponding physical router device via the deterministic connection to control the corresponding physical router device. 
     
     
       14. A computer-implemented method for handling wireless communication, comprising:
 implementing, by one or more processors of a server, a plurality of virtual routers within a virtual mesh network environment; 
 establishing, via a communication interface of the server, a deterministic connection between each of the plurality of virtual routers and each of a plurality of physical router devices configured to communicate wirelessly with a plurality of low-power wireless devices, wherein each of the virtual routers corresponds to one of the physical router devices and is configured to communicate with the plurality of low-power wireless devices through such corresponding physical router device; 
 implementing, by the one or more processors of the server, a virtual communication layer configured to route inter-router communication between the plurality of virtual routers; 
 receiving, at the plurality of physical router devices, data from the plurality of low-power wireless devices; 
 communicating, via the virtual communication layer, non-deterministic communication between a virtual router of the plurality of virtual routers and another virtual router of the plurality of virtual routers according to a standard wireless mesh network protocol for physical nodes within a wireless mesh network; and 
 communicating, by the one or more processors of the server, the data to a client application external to the virtual mesh network environment from at least one of the plurality of virtual routers. 
 
     
     
       15. The computer-implemented method of  claim 14 , wherein implementing the plurality of virtual routers within the virtual mesh network environment comprises implementing each of the virtual routers in a separate container running in the virtual mesh network environment. 
     
     
       16. The computer-implemented method of  claim 14 , wherein the deterministic connection includes a wired connection between the communication interface of the server and each of the physical router devices. 
     
     
       17. The computer-implemented method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 communicating, via the deterministic connection associated with each of the plurality of virtual routers, the data from the plurality of physical router devices to the plurality of virtual routers; and 
 communicating, via the virtual communication layer, at least a part of the data between at least some of the virtual routers.